Naught's Sunrise
by Mazz84
Summary: The final volume in the Save Me trilogy. Eggman and The White Phoenix are destroying everyone and anyone who gets in their way. Can the combined efforts of Super Sonic AND Super Shadow stop them? Find out inside! All reviews welcome!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer-- I don't own anything Sonic/ Sega related. I only own Glorianna Robotnik, Carla the Android and **_**The White Phoenix**_

**Vol three of the Save Me trilogy is here!**

**All reviews are welcomed.**

**Here we go!**

Save Me, Vol Three-- Naught's Sunrise.

Chapter one.

Station Square and the surrounding areas were dark and covered in a never-ending blanket of storm clouds,the moon shone like a misty orb through the clouds.But at closer inspection, it wasn't the moon at all,between the forgotten buildings of the city below, a brilliant white hedgehog floated. His ears twitched at the slightest sounds, his fang-like teeth showed in an unforgiving snarl, ready for anything that got in his way.

He landed on the top of the nearest roof, folded his arms and smirked at the pathetic sight below him. A mass of green aimed their guns at him. With a bored sigh, _Phoenix _raised a single glowing, hand and watched with golden eyes as each and every gun melted in a sea of hot liquid metal. The startled screams that he heard were sweet music to his ears. Upon seeing large tanks approach, he floated down to land just feet away from the vehicles. He tilted his head to one side, snorted and flew off.

He looked high and low for a challenge, hearing a soft sound, _The Phoenix _went to investigate. A tiny, insignificant rat, that had dared to go out in search of food, scampered out in front of him. It froze, nose twitching and raised itself onto it's hind legs. The hedgehog looked at it with interest and landed softly onto the pavement, he crouched and reached out a hand. The rodent sniffed hopefully at the fingers offered and then let out a squeak in alarm as the hedgehog growled. It's tiny body was glowing silver.

The white hedgehog had stood up and with a hand raised, he lifted the rat in a force field. He listened to the frantic squeals of terror with deaf ears. With a disgusted snort, he drew back his arm and lashed out.

The rodent was dead before its body smacked into the wall behind.

_The Phoenix _sighed, " _Not even a challenge_." He dusted his hands and closed his eyes. He listened closely, soon he heard them--sirens, and a lot of them. The pendent in his chest plate glowed dimly, telling him that his powers were in need of re-charging. He smirked at it, then opened his arms and rose into the night sky.

_Enough time to have a little FUN !_... He thought happily.

**Master Emerald Shrine-- Knuckles' hut. (See? I wouldn't let anything happen to my fave hedgehog--Mazz84.)**

The Master Emerald had done it, it had safely teleported Sonic and the others back to the planet's surface, with no side effects... well, unless you count being knocked out for over ten hours a side effect.

Something wet touched his head. Startled, Sonic yelped and tumbled out of the bed he was in. Carla, who had dropped the cloth she was carrying in surprise, crawled up and leaned over the side of the bed ,peering at Sonic through his propped up feet.

Sonic was sprawled down the narrow space between bed and wall, rubbing his head. He opened his eyes with a groan, and seeing Carla staring at him, pouted at her.

Carla fought hard to keep a straight face, she really did, but failed miserably. She snorted and broke down in a fit of girlie giggles, she howled with laughter, banging her fists on the mattress. Her long flowing hair covered her face as she collapsed onto the bed.

Sonic continued to pout, before snorting himself and joining in the laughter. He took the hand offered and got back up. Once there, the two looked nervously at each other before another attack of giggles overtook them. They crumbled into a pathetic heap, holding their sides, tears running down their cheeks.

After they had calmed down, they laid side by side. Sonic on his back , his arms folded behind his head. He slowed his breathing to a strange sound that had filled the small room. Leaning up onto one elbow, Sonic looked at Carla, the black and white feline was laying on her front, her head resting on her arms, long hair covering half her face, and found the sound was coming from _inside_ her chest. It took him a minute or two to realize that Carla was _purring._

Now being the slow learner that he was, Sonic knew that domestic cats purred when they wanted food, but Carla was an Android and didn't need food, so it wasn't that. Curious, he reached out a hand and lightly stroked her arm. The purring became deeper and louder as Carla huddled deeper into her arms.Sonic smiled warmly at her, remembering another reason why cats purred, ( well, he _was_ a slow learner) cats purred to show affection.

He suddenly saw her in a new light. Pushing back her messy fringe, he kissed her temple softly before settling down beside her. Listening to her constant purring, Sonic drifted back to sleep.

--

Outside, watching The Master Emerald glow and dim, the misty form of Shadow waited to join the rest of himself. Amy was resting in the hut, wearing the pendent. Knuckles had warned him that his heart had to merge before his soul could, if they rushed it, Amy would be seriously hurt,so Shadow had nodded and gone outside.

The ghostly hedgehog huffed and paced. Patience was not one of his strong points. He looked into the giant gemstone and was shocked to see a faint vision of the old Temple in the overgrown forest. Before he could even start to question the Emerald for showing him this, a small red light caught his attention ,it was coming from the hut, surely the merge wasn't completed already?

He entered the cramped house and walked down the narrow passageway, bumping into Knuckles, who like Carla, was carrying a damp cloth and on his way to tend to Amy. He growled low in his throat, Knuckles raised his brows at the sound.

" _I will look after her_."

" Hey, Shadow. I'm just helping out, man, just--"

"_ I said.. I will do it! No one else_." He lifted a hand and the cloth flew from Knuckles fingers, to hit the wall opposite. Shadow frowned at him, " _Understand _?"

Knuckles nodded, and walked out to continue whatever it was he was doing. The ghost hedgehog went into the room, stepping over the small heap of dirty clothes to arrive at the side of the bed where Amy lay, sleeping.

The pendent around her neck glinted in the dim light. Shadow nodded in understanding and reached over the lift it from her. Amy murmured and huddled deeper in the covers. He slipped the necklace over his head and at once grunted as he regained his lost and shattered memories, he grabbed the side of his head and slowly dropped to the ground. He tried the raise himself up onto his knees and made a grab at the corner of the bed, as his memories sorted themselves out . As his heart connected to his soul, Shadow cried out, crumbling to the ground in pain. Amy jerked awake and leaned over the bed.

" Shadow! Shadow, what's wrong!?" Throwing the covers off, she knelt at his side, but found she could nothing but watch as the ghostly hedgehog pushed himself from the floor with his hands,arching his back inward.

Looking up , Shadow snarled at her, his eyes ablaze and slashed at her with his fingers.

"Sh..Shadow..?" Amy reached out a trembling hand.

" _Get..away f-from... me _!" He spat back.

" Shadow ,please.. you can fight this.._come on_! Please..don't leave me again.." She wiped her eyes, "Don't leave me.."

Shadow curled into a tight ball, and then unleashed a powerful shock wave, that filled the whole room with golden, sunshine golden, light. When the light had faded, Shadow stood with the unconscious Amy in his arms. The merge had transformed Shadow in his Super form, though he was still a ghost, he was semi-solid. The pendent fell from his neck and with a soft sigh, broke in two as it hit the floor.

With affection, he placed Amy carefully onto the bed, draped the blanket over her shoulders and kissed her temple "_ I'll come back. I promise you." _Taking one, last look at her sleeping form, Shadow used Chaos Control and teleported away.

A minute later, he found himself outside the old Temple. Sighing deeply, he climbed the stone steps and made his way inside. Once in there, he conjured a glowing orb of light to act as his guide.

" _OK, Master Emerald. You sent me here, what am I looking for _?" He traveled deeper into the depths of the forgotten Temple, passing murals on each sides. He stopped as he noticed that the murals in this part of the Temple were all the same, lifting the orb of light, his red eyes widened as he read the old script. " _Oh, sweet Maria.._..."

The wall size mural showed a huge bird shape flying over a burning globe. Either side of it were two yellow star shapes. Below the globe ,in a row, were seven different coloured triangles. Down the sides of the picture were the words:

_**Slegna ginylf eht fo snos owt eht esu. Nihtiw wodahs eht esaeler dna,semalf revlis eht lleuq ot.**_

"_ I've got to tell the others. Quick_!"

Someone from the darkness quietly said, " _My, my..leaving so soon? Pity, I wanted to have some _fun." They stepped out into the dim light with an evil grin, metal knuckles cracked and red eyes glowed dangerously. "_ Happy to see me, my yellow counter-part _?"

Shadow raised his fists and growled, " _YOU _!?"

**Next chapter is here!**


	2. Chapter 2

**It might be alittle slow going, but trust me. It will be worth it.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2 

_Where ever Sonic was, it was warm, comfortable and..._familiar._ Wearily, he opened his eyes,as they came into focus,Sonic found himself in a white room. Groaning, he sat up rubbing his head._

_" You shouldn't be here," said a gentle voice._

_His eyes opened fully, he blinked and turned his head at the sound. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sitting at a small dressing table, looking slightly older, her head low and her hands drawing to her heart's content. Was Naminé._

_" I..N-Naminé?"_

_She turned in her seat to face him. Her red eyes softened and she smiled. " Mister Sonic, you're awake!" She walked over to the bed and sat at his side, her smile faded slightly as she lifted a hand to stroke the side of his head. " You shouldn't be here. You don't belong here. Go home."_

_" Where is _here_? And it's just Sonic, okay?"_

_She nodded, dropping her hand. She tucked a stray strand of her ice- blue hair behind her ear, " This is a dream, Sonic. I'm just here to help you. _The Phoenix _is made from Black Arms DNA, as is Shadow. To release Shadow's body from it's hold, you need to use a powerful force of good . There is a key sentence that you must translate before it's too late and Shadow is too far away to be saved."_

_" Do you know what it is?"_

_A nod." When Shadow was inside me, I wrote it every day. I'll get it for you."_

_Sonic watched her journey to the other side of the room, he swiped at the air around his ears, a strange buzzing had started and it was getting on his nerves. Naminé returned and handed him a small piece of paper, on it were the words:_

_**Slegna ginylf eht fo snos owt eht esu. Nihtiw wodahs eht esaeler dna,semalf revlis eht lleuq ot.**_

_Sonic looked at the paper with a confused expression,as he tucked the slip of paper into his gloves, he grumbled and swatted around his ears again. He went to ask Naminé about it, but found she- and the rest of the room -were fading fast._

_"Naminé? Naminé!?"_

_"Sonic, stay calm. Just figure out that message, I promise you it will help you. Good luck, Sonic the Hedgehog."_

_"Naminé !?" He shouted as everything turned black once again. "No wait! Naminé? NAMINÉ !?"_

--------------------------------

Startled, Sonic yelped and fell out of bed, again. He hit the wooden ground with a bump, as he rubbed his sore behind, Carla poked her head in. She giggled at him before entering the room, carrying a small bowl and a spoon, she put them on a crate next to the bed and looked down at him. He grinned nervously at her as he got to his feet.

" Nice to see you're awake, Uncle Sonic." She grinned, smoothing down the hem of her blue vest-top.

"Uggh...What time is it? The last thing I remember clearly was jumping off The ARK---" His eyes widened, " Aw man! Is everyone ok? W-where's Amy?"

Carla took hold of his arm,a little sad that he couldn't, or really _didn't _want to, remember the night before .She walked backwards, tugging him along towards the other small room that doubled as a bedroom. " Both you and Amy were out for a while. Luckily for Amy, Shadow's strenght protected her,"

" Shadow? Is he alright?"

A nod. "Oh yes, we're not to disturb her. Knuckles is waiting for us, outside."

He followed Carla outside and spotted Knuckles. Knuckles was fiddling with an old and battered TV set. After finding another screen filled with snow, the red echidna groaned in frustration and kicked it.

"Stupid thing."

" Next time _my_ TV breaks down, I'm _so_ not calling you for help." Sonic grinned at his buddy. " What's up?"

Knuckles rubbed the back of his neck." I want to apologize, Sonic. I messed up."

" Uh.. Ok. For what? You got us down here safely didn't you, what are you sorry for?"

He took a deep breath, " Glory asked me if I could.. _tinker_ with the magical elements of The Master Emerald to see if I could use it from space. You know, for our trip to The ARK, I said I'd give it a go. When Caz checked in, I'd almost finished when the Chaos Emeralds came _screaming_ at me! You said Eggman did something to them,"

"Yeah. He dipped them in Black Arms DNA. " Sonic shuddered, " So not cool."

"You don't know the half of it. I had the job of cleansing the Emeralds, once freed from Eggman's evil I sent them back into space. They will wait there, until you have need of them, Sonic." Sonic nodded in understanding.

"What happened to the evil, Knuckles?" Asked Carla, softly.

" I had to get rid of it, that much evil would do no one any favours. I sent it in the direction of a well known black-hole, but there was feedback. I don't know how it happened ,Sonic, but The Master Emerald used it's more powerful version of Chaos Control to teleport you here. When I found you all, you were knocked out."

" Whoa ! The big rock did that ! Impressive." He frowned, " Apart from the blacking out bit."

" Carla woke up first, so I left her in charge of looking after you." Seeing Carla was studying the broken TV, he leaned in close to Sonic, " Actually, she insisted that_ she _be the one to look after you."

Sonic was taken back, " She did? But why?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes with a shake of the head, "Sometimes, _you_ are the dumb one. It's very clear that Carla has feelings for you, and if I'm not mistaken, they're very close to what Amy used to feel for you. You get where I'm going with this?"

A very faint pink tint appeared on Sonic's cheeks." She likes me?"

"No, I think it's deeper than that, dumb-nuts. I think Carla's in love with you." He smirked. " I'm guessing by the bright pinkness of you face, you like her too?"

The blue hedgehog nervously grinned and nodded. " Now that you mentioned it, last night Carla did start purring at me,and I found it relaxing. I like having her around, she makes me feel happy when I'm near her and we like the same sort of things." He poked Knuckles in the chest." And don't you _dare _tell her! I'll tell her, but not yet, I'll wait till this thing blows over. And not to get side-tracked, Knuckles, you said something about looking after Amy?"

" I _was_ going to look after Amy, but Shadow appeared. I couldn't get anywhere near her because he growled at me every time I did so. So I left him to it." He joined Carla at the TV, smirking again as Sonic stood at her side, looking slightly uncomfortable, and started fiddling with the buttons again. "I've been trying to tune into the News station. From what I've gathered from the radio, the people of Station Square have all been evacuated to West City and now are under the protection of Mayor Taylor."

" Gotta love that guy, " Sonic murmured, remembering a previous adventure. "What about Glory, Tails,Uncle Chuck and G.U.N ? Shadow said they were fighting Eggman and his cronies."

" They _were_. They fired everything and anything at _Phoenix_ , nothing worked. Apparently, from the radio reports, _Phoenix_ got bored and melted all their weapons with one wave of his hand. Now he's _missing_ and they're saying he's.. well, he's gone to sleep."

" _Gone to sleep_? It's the most powerful being on the planet, and he's gone to sleep !? I mean.. how? "

"The fake pendent. Eggman used only Black Arms DNA and Shadow's body, but because he's got the fake necklace, he has none of Shadow's true Chaos powers. He has the basics- Chaos Blast, Chaos Spear, but that's it. Shadow isn't wearing his rings,_ The Phoenix _used up all his powers in one go and now has to recharge. G.U.N have taken this_ little breather _to come up with more useful weapons. There's rumors that their own Battle Droids might come into play."

Sonic snorted, " Yeah, like that stopped Shadow before. He needs a challenge."

" A challenge? Ooh, Uncle Sonic! That means you, doesn't it?"

He groaned inwardly."Yeah. Thanks, Caz." He noticed Knuckles raised brows, "It's nothing to worry about,_ Phoenix _just wants to beat me to a bloody pulp when he's done leveling the city." He shrugged. " It's no biggie. I have a plan."

" No biggie!? " Came a high-pitched scream. Amy joined them, wearing a spare set of Carla's clothes. She looked very upset for some reason. " No biggie?!"

" Yo, Amy.. what's the deal? I have a plan to swap pendents, Shadow can fight old bird-brain from the inside, and... why are you crying?"

"Oh ,Sonic..." Reaching into her shorts pockets, Amy withdrew the two half of the broken pendent and placed them into his hands. " Shadow's gone!"

" GONE!? Gone where? "

" I--I don't know! I think he's gone after _Phoenix_ himself."

" Idiot! " Roared Sonic, throwing the useless necklace towards The Master Emerald. The gem sparkled, he flexed his hands and then pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from one of his gloves. After he read it, he blinked and suddenly grinned, looking up into the clouds." Knuckles, the Chaos Emeralds are up there, right?"

"Yeah...waiting for you to call them." Sonic handed him the note. He read it then his mouth dropped opened. Knuckles handed it to Carla, who in turn, handed it to Amy.

While _they_ were busy figuring out the key sentence, the one that could save everyone,Sonic looked from the Master Emerald, to the edge of The Floating Island and back again, then he nodded to himself.

"Guys, I have a _new_ crazy idea. Let's get that TV working, pronto.We've got to find our ghostly buddy and with the help of the Chaos Emeralds, I've just declared open-season on Phoenixes." He held out a hand, " Who's with me?" They all placed their hands on his and nodded. "Then let's do it, to it!"

" Yeah! " They shouted and got to work.

**More soon, promise.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Woo-hoo! I have reviews! Oh, thanks guys.**

**I wasn't sure if I'd done the backwards phrase right.**

**I promise all will be revealed.**

**Enjoy!!**

Chapter 3

Tails was in trouble, the young fox had lost his target that he was chasing--_again_! With _The Phoenix _taking a break, Chuck had come up the_ brilliant _idea of hunting down the robot monks that had been sent forth.

The youngster rounded a corner and sighed in relief, his target was a few meters away. Taking a prototype Nanite Injection Device-- that Chuck had invented ( Probably an idea from his home world.)-- from his belt, Tails threw it with all his might. It hit the robot squarely on it's back, it jerked to a stand-still before crumbling to the ground in a shower of sparks.

Coughing and sputtering, Tails took a stick and prodded the body. Finding it to be soft, he grinned and pushed back his glove, pressing a button to speak into his com-link.

" This is Twin-tail. Target de-roboticized, requesting pick-up."

"_ Great one, Miles !"_ Came Chuck's voice._" That's the last of Eggman's robots.The girl's are on their way. Chuck, out_."

Tails covered his wrist and dragged the monk to a nearby doorway, as the minutes past, Tails heard faint footsteps. Peeking out from his place, he spotted someone in a long ,black coat coming towards them, pulling something small from their pocket. The walk was very familiar, it looked just like--

" _Amy_...Oh,no! It's the Amy robot! Come,on, mister. Move!"

They stumbled away from the doorway, and not a moment too soon. The doorway exploded into a cloud of dust and wreckage. He screamed and ran down the street, half-dragging, half-carrying the monk. The black coat advanced, taking another bomb from her pocket. His com-link went off.

_"Twin-tail? Where are you? Twin-tail !?"_

"Help! I'm being attacked! Please hurry!"

"_Don't worry, we've got your back_."

The wall near him shattered, causing him to fall onto his front, the monk landed on his back and try as he might, Tails couldn't lift him. The little fox covered his ears and whimpered as the fake Amy got closer. When she didn't attack again, Tails risked lifting his head to find out why.

A very strong and powerful truck had come to a stop at the end of the street. At seeing its headlights, Tails' heart swelled. The truck changed into a higher gear and came roaring down the road .It's driver and crew hell-bent on hurting anyone who dare hurt _their_ Twin-tail.

" There it is!" Shouted Jessie. The driver- Ellie- floored the accelerator, the truck swerved wide to the left. " Easy, Ellie..._Easy_. NOW!!"

With a grunt, Ellie span the wheel hard right, catching the Android on the side of the bumper, scraping it against the wall in a shower of sparks. Ellie let out a warriors cry as she turned harder. " _AAarrrggghhh_!! Die, you bitch!!"

Toni, the last of the crew, wound down the window behind Ellie and drop a very special bomb into the Android's mouth. " Let's get Twin-tail and get the hoo-har out of here!"

Ellie pulled away from the wall, and stopped by Tails' side. Jessie and Toni helped him sit the monk with five others in the back, before clambering into the cab. Ellie put the truck into gear and sped off. Toni gave Tails the device with a big red button on it, the fox smirked and pressed it firmly. It was quiet, and then came an almighty _KA--BOOM!!_ The Android was blown to pieces in a display of wacky fireworks, that lit up the night-sky to then drift slowly back down to the pavement, showering it with flame-grilled robots parts. The girls and Tails whooped and cheered wildly as they raced back to base.

High above them, watching the small truck speed away, Eggman's lower lip wobbled. He started to wail uncontrollably, he blew his nose on a brightly coloured hankie with a comical_ honk !_" My baby! Oh, M-My wittle baby! Waah--haa--haa !" He mopped his eyes and sniffed. "Ooh, they'll pay for this..." He looked over to another roof top where a bright, silvery-white ball crackled with energy. Eggman grinned, " Mark my words, they'll all pay!" He spotted a SS-TV News helicopter fly over head and frowned. " I hate TV." Finding that he was alone, save for_ Phoenix_, Eggman rubbed his chin, " Now where's that Silver Shadow? It's nearly show time !"

**Floating Island**

Sonic watched his buddy's escape and wiped his brow with relief. He shook his head, bemused by his brothers pulling power.. let's face it, Tails was surrounded by babes! Next to him, with her eyes wide with fear and biting her nails, sat Carla. She was on tender hooks through-out the whole chase, and who could blame her. After all, Tails was her father.

Watching Tails on the TV made Sonic think about the battle ahead. He took a deep breath and got ready to do something painful, but for the right reasons.

"Caz? We need to talk."

"W-We do?"

He nodded, "Yes. You see, the thing is, I know how you feel about me."

"Oh? _Oh_!" She covered her face with her hands, beyond embarrassed.

" I mean, I'm flattered that you feel this way, but,"

" It would never work out, would it?"

He gave her a kind but sad smile. " Figured it out too, huh? Possibly for the same reasons I did?"

She nodded, " Yeah. Some minor reasons and the obvious one, I'm an Android, and most people would see it as creepy." She smiled weakly back, " Something along those lines?"

Sonic put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Something like that. I value our friendship, Caz, above anything else and I don't want to lose it for a..." He couldn't finish, so Carla did it for him.

" A mistake..." She sighed, " I understand, if your friendship is all I can get, Uncle Sonic, then I know what must be done." She stood and made her way towards the wooden bridge. She was stopped when Sonic grabbed her arm, "Let me go..I have to do this!"

"Do what? Where are you going?"

Carla turned to face him,tears running down her face. " I'm going home! I'm not ready for these things called emotions! I'm all over the place, so I'm going back to the workshop, I'll leave Papa a note telling him to reset my emotion chip and then I'm de-activating myself." She shoved him away, " I'm doing it, and nobody is gonna stop me. So save your breath."

He was silent for a second, then nodded. " If this is what you want, Caz, I respect your decision. You are my friend, remember that." He gathered her up into a fierce hug, and again, kissed the top of her head, " Best friends.." He whispered.

They broke apart, Carla wiped her eyes dry and squeezed his hand. " Best friends... _forever_! " She grinned at him cheekily and gave him a sisterly peck on the cheek. " Good luck, Uncle Sonic. Kick _Phoenix's _butt ! " She jogged along the bridge, revved up and shot down the rocky road, back home.

He watched her go with sad eyes, but knowing it was for the best and hurried to join the others at The Master Emerald. " Anything?"

Knuckles dropped his hands from the gems' side, " I'm getting large amounts of Chaos energy from the forest, by Tails' workshop. It's coming from the Temple--"

"Where's Carla?" Asked Amy suddenly, looking around for the Android.

Sonic sighed."She went home. She said she's malfunctioning or something, so she's going to shut-down until Tails can fix her."

Amy sniffed sadly," Another soldier down." She wiped her eyes, " I mean, do you think we've got a chance?"

Sonic gave her one of his cunning smiles, " Sure we do! We might be a soldier down, but so is Egg-belly! And speaking of soldiers.. Where's Shadow got to?"

**Old Temple-- Forest.**

Super Shadow slammed into the wall behind him with a grunt. Through the red haze that was slowly masking his vision, he could make out the form of his metal double.

"_ I mean.. _come on! _Amy Rose? What a joke!"_ Silver shook his head, " _I can understand the_ sweet and innocent _part. When I had her helpless at The ARK, she took such a beating."_ A disturbing smile crossed his face and he shivered_. "If I had the chance, when I was finished with her, she wouldn't love _you. _To be touched by _you_ would make her skin crawl .To be made love by you... UGH! You would've lost her.._again

"...Shut up..." Shadow growled, slowly and painfully getting to his feet.

_" Ooh, did I hit a nerve? Come on then, _Ultimate Life form_, if that's who you really are. Teach me a lesson!"_

The golden hedgehog grinned as his hands were inflamed with red fire, he balled them up into tight fists. The room they were in lit up with his yellow aura. Shadow charged up his attack, his red eyes glowing, his mouth set in a snarl.

" If you insist." He roared and rushed forward in a golden and red bullet towards his fake double.

As the speeding light came at him, Silver felt his face drop. _" Aw, crap..."_

When Sonic and the others arrived at the old Temple, they were blinded by sunlight that burst through the side and into the open space. Once the dust had settled, Super Shadow and Silver stood in the center, breathing hard.

Amy rushed to be at Shadow's side, but Sonic put an arm out to block her. When she opened her mouth to protest, she saw Sonic was looking at Shadow with a familiar gleam in his eyes.

" He's got this.."

She nodded and stepped back to watch.

Shadow landed a powerful punch on Silver's jaw, the robot went down and Shadow made sure he stayed down by slamming both fists into his back. The golden hedgehog jumped and dodged Silver's flick-kick to his ankles. He cartwheeled backwards to land on his feet, grinning.

Standing with his arms crossed over his chest, Shadow summoned his Chaos energy. A vortex of gold surrounded the super-charged life form, it crackled with pink electricity as Shadow span faster and faster inside it. He unleashed the yellow tornado, catching Silver by surprise. While the robot version of himself got sucked in and disorientated, Shadow rushed forward.

Through a furious attack of kicks, punches, body slams, homing attacks, everything that he had learned or gathered from others, Shadow was herding Silver Shadow towards his intended target--the edge of the cliff. Silver wasn't going down without a last-ditch effort, as Shadow lashed out with a punch to his stomach, Silver caught his arm and was twisting it, with all intention of breaking it off ! Shadow grunted, he glowed brighter then any star, almost as bright as a sun and curled up into a ball.

The super-charged spin attack was too much for Silver. His hands melted in the heat, releasing Shadow from his hold, he held up what remained of his arms to protect himself. But it was no good, the force of the attack catapulted him up and over the side of the cliff, exploding in a giant fireball as he fell.

Shadow stood to get his breath back and was suddenly enveloped in a bone-crushing hug that could only be Amy, He hugged her back just as hard, re-charging his powers. Sonic and Knuckles approached them, Knuckles nodding his approval and Sonic grinning like an idiot.

" Now that..." Went the blue hedgehog, ".. was _sweet _!"

" Impressive." Agreed Knuckles.

" My hero!" Cooed Amy into his ear, Shadow flushed slightly, much to Sonic's amusement."So, are you like.. back with us now?" She asked him.

Shadow shook his head, " No. _Phoenix_ still has my body, if I don't join with it soon, I'll be lost forever... I need the Chaos Emeralds, and... " He grinned at Sonic, "...My brother sun." Sonic grinned back.

Amy being clueless as ever, and not realizing the full extent of the danger that was to be involved said, " It's a much better plan than Sonic's,which I might say is too risky _and _stupid."

Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog, seeing the gleam in his green eyes. He smiled, "_You_ have a plan?" Sonic nodded and told him, once he was done, Shadow nodded at once. " I understand. I will wait with The Chaos Emeralds. You must hurry to the City. I sense a powerful energy surge, that could only belong to _The Phoenix _himself. Glory and the others won't last long, without our help."

The others nodded, as Shadow used Chaos Control to warp up into space, Sonic carried Amy on his back, with Knuckles not far behind. Running as fast as they could, they headed for the city, praying they were in time.

**That was long chapter, if there are any mistakes.. I'm sorry!**

**For those of you who are confused about Shadow, he's still a ghost but in Super form as Phoenix still has his body. ( But not for long..)**

**Next chapter up!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy peeps!**

Chapter 4 

Sonic ran for all he was worth, Amy's legs banged against his back. The hedgehog groaned in frustration, reached behind him, grabbed the pink one and re-arranged her so she was in his arms, bridal style.

" Do we have to go so fast!?" She screamed into his ear. Sonic nodded and she buried her head against his neck. "..OK..."

" Trust me!" He shouted back with one of his grins. As he looked back to the road, Amy saw the light from his green eyes fade and the tips of his ears droop. Knuckles came along side, his face mirrored Sonic's--slightly worried.

For a reason, Sonic suddenly screeched to a halt, sending Amy to the ground, and Knuckles slamming into his back. The blue hedgehog put a finger to his lips and crept to the edge of the mountain road. There came numerous loud roars from below that caused Sonic to yelp and jump back into Knuckles' arms.

"Aaww, Knuxs. I didn't know you cared.." He cooed in a mocked girlie voice. Knuckles grunted and dropped him at once. The area they were in was bathed in bright lights. Sonic shielded his eyes from the search-lights from the planes' underside. " Fighter jets? This_ is _serious..."

"Sonic!" Amy screamed and pointed upward. A very familiar shape headed the triangle of planes, very familiar and very blue.

" That's.. _The Tornado_! " Sonic jumped on the spot, trying to get his foxy buddy's attention, " Tails! Don't do it, man! TAILS!?" He watched the jets fly off into the direction of the city. " Oh, that-- is--_ it._" He crouched to adjust his sneakers and then stood, pushing back his quills.

" Sonic...?"

He turned to Amy and Knuckles, " I'm going after _Phoenix_. I'm ending this right now ! Get to the city as soon as you can. No freakish bird is gonna hurt my best friend..even if he does look like Shadow..." He grinned at them and saluted. " Catch you on the flip side!" He took a jogging start, raced down the dirt track, curled into a ball and whooshed off.

Amy and Knuckles looked at each other and sighed, they then shook their heads and began jogging along in Sonic's wake.

Sonic was hitting his top speed, everything around him blurred together. He chanced a look up and bolted right to dodge an incoming fireball. When he got up from his rolled position on the ground, he found --not a smoking crater-- but a pair of glowing ,gold legs. He looked up, slightly annoyed.

"What do _you_ want?"

Shadow stared at him, his face set in a scowl, his arms folded across his chest. " I want inside, _right now_."

Sonic blinked a couple of times, " You couldn't have put that in a more disturbing way, could you?"

" What? No, not_ that _! Uugghh! Once was enough." He shuddered hard. " I mean, I want inside my body. I don't want to wait, I can't afford to," He glided next to Sonic as the blue hero took off again.

" What about the plan?"

Shadow smirked, " I don't take orders from you, hedgehog. No one tells me what to do. But... I'll go along with your plan, as long as you don't mind me having some fun first." He told Sonic what he had in mind, " It will be dangerous and since Amy isn't around, it will have to be you. Do you understand what I'm asking of you?"

" I...I understand." The blue hedgehog looked at Shadow, Naminé's words slowly came back to him from his dream ages ago : "_To release Shadow's body from it's hold, you need to use a powerful force of good to do so, before it's too late and Shadow is too far away to be saved."_

Shadow nodded, "Thank you, Sonic. Now, what game do you have in mind to grab the attention of _Phoenix_ and lead him to the Master Emerald? Is it a good game?"

Sonic smirked this time, " Oh, don't worry. I've just the game to get him to chase me--_us_. It can't fail."

" I hope so. Or you're _dead_ meat."

" Eeep." The blue dude slowed his pace a little and stopped at the city limits. " They're at the Warehouses? Why?" Explosions rang out in the night air, his ears picked up on a familiar plane engine. " Tails!" He jumped onto roof-top, after roof-top, and spotted four parachutes heading towards the ground. He shook his head slowly, " No...No,no,no..NO! TAILS! "

**Main City-- Warehouse district ( Ugh, I suck a place names..)**

The Commander of G.U.N waited for the parachutes to land safely, he stood behind his comrades in arms and gave the command," FIRE ALL !!"

The wave of fire hit the glowing, white force field with no effect what-so-ever. _The Phoenix _was still in one piece and smiling smugly at them, having destroyed the best planes they had built.

Eggman sat in his Egg-o-matic smiling like a kid at Christmas," Oh--ho! Lookie here! Why, if it isn't my dear little cousin?"

The white ghost hovered in front of them, it rose into the air, he hunched over and freakishly, large feathery wings sprouted from his back . He sneered, unfurling them to their full width, _Phoenix_crossed his arms, a bright silver aura surrounded him. Eggman could see the hope fade from Glory's face as _Phoenix_ screamed with all his might,

_" Chaos...Blast !"_

The silvery orb that covered his body shot out in waves. The G.U.N soldiers, Glory and the others were knocked off their feet, shouting and in some cases, sobbing.

Sonic, from his place on the roof-tops struggled to get free and help. Twisting himself in Shadow's arms, the hedgehog grunted and tried to bite the arm that was around his torso, holding him from behind.

" Let me go!" He was sobbing now, " Let me go! Get--_off_--me ! " He stamped on Shadow's foot. The golden hedgehog yelped, releasing him and jumping on the spot. As Sonic prepared to jump to the pavement below, a heart-breaking scream pierced the air. The two hedgehogs looked at each other and shouted in unison,

" GLORY !!"

They took off in blue and gold streaks towards the noise. Sonic edged forward,rolled into a ball and left Shadow eating his dust.

Eggman peered over the brim of his Egg-O-Matic craft, _Phoenix _hovered beside him, watching the smoke at its feet.The smoke faded, and Glory was no where to been seen. Eggman looked at the spot she had been standing with a smile of glee of his fat face . It slowly faded though, as a soft cough reached his ears, followed by the sound of tapping feet. "No... it can't be..." He traced a smaller smoke trail, along the road, up the broken side of the building to the broken windows. His face turned a nasty purple colour, " YOU!!"

Sonic grinned, " My, my.. that was a snazzy performance, there, Lard-belly. What's he gonna do now, pull a rabbit out of his hat?"

Eggman snickered, "Oh, no, my dear rodent. Not something as simple as that, but he does have a few tricks up his sleeve even I didn't know about." He clicked his fingers, " Show him."

_Phoenix_ conjured up a silvery-blue energy ball. Sonic pushed Glory out the way only to be captured himself. It was like a magnetic pull, Glory reached over to pull him back up, but found him to be too heavy. The blue hedgehog screamed in agony as he was dragged away, his nails leaving marks in the concrete. Sonic flew through the air, smacking into a lamppost--breaking it in half on impact--he fell to his knees, winded and weakened.

As_ Phoenix_raised a back-hander to finish him off, he was slammed down onto the pavement, face-first. Super Shadow,who had raced from the heavens, had flung himself onto his back. Grunting, Shadow tore the fake pendent from the white hedgehog's neck and crushed it with his super powers. _Phoenix_ gasped for breath, his powers slowly draining away, and forced himself onto his feet. It was now or never.

" SONIC!"

" On it !" He came to his side, and then stopped. " Urm..."

Shadow shook his head and stood to face him, " You have to be the one, only one of purest heart can power the merge, like Amy and Naminé. We are the sons of angels and you have the purest heart of them all, Sonic. You can do this."

The golden hedgehog placed Sonic's arms around his waist, he wrapped his arms around Sonic's neck, tangling his fingers in the blue ones head quills. They were cheek to cheek and Sonic shivered. Shadow leaned up and whispered,

" What do suns do?" At Sonic's shrug, he smiled and murmured softly, " They _shine_..."

Shadow's body glowed from the inside, everyone around them looked in awe as the whole area was suddenly bathe in sunlight. The two hedgehogs disappeared in the ball of energy. Sonic closed his eyes tight and whimpered at the brightness, Shadow held onto him, his eyes sought out _Phoenix_ and he smirked. _Phoenix_let loose with a roar and tried to charge at the two glowing sons, but with no success. The area around all three of them grew white hot, Shadow nuzzled into the warm fur of Sonic's neck, and praying, unleashed an almighty Chaos Blast. The shock waves knocked _Phoenix_ down onto his knees,_ he _cried out as silvery vapors rose from his body and drifted over to Shadow, who sighed and gently stroked the back of Sonic's head.

The light faded, Sonic looked up and met red eyes that seem to twinkle. He stepped back and pinched Shadow on his arm, Shadow yelped and rubbed his sore arm, causing Sonic to let out a happy cry and hug the golden hedgehog. Shadow was back, still in his Super form, but he was real again. The final merge had worked.

" I can't begin to thank you, Sonic."

"Aw, it was nothing. Anything for a friend."

" _How very touching_." _Phoenix_ was still standing also, he was still in Shadow's form but made up of silver flames. His yellow eyes could be seen through the visor, that had been cracked by the sheer force of the merge. He flexed his mighty wings and produced a blue fireball. _" You may have taken back the body, but I still have the powers of Black Arms,"_ He walked towards them with a cruel smile on his lips, _" Face it hedgehogs, you've lost this game."_

Sonic's face lit up, "Oh, yeah? Well, then.. how about a new game?" The blue son stepped up to him . Shadow, behind him, looked up to the sky the best he could and seeing what he wanted, adjusted his bracelets and got ready to run. Sonic stood with hands on hips and cocked his head to the side. "Well..?"

_"What is this new game you have planned, hedgehog?"_

Shadow couldn't believe that _Phoenix_ was falling for it. Sonic leaned in close, " It's my version of _Tag_--winner take all-- and guess what, bird- brain?" He shoved him hard in the chest plate he was still wearing with a smile and a wink in Shadow's direction, " You're IT!"

_" Challenge accepted." Phoenix _rose into to air once more, his wings unfurling to half their width this time. The fireball in his hands grew to the size of a small car,_ " GO!"_

Sonic and Shadow raced out of the city, with _Phoenix_ in hot pursuit, the crazed bird fueled by Black Arms DNA, hurled fireballs after fireballs at the two speed-demons. The hedgehogs past a stunned Glory and her team, G.U.N soldiers, Chuck, Tails, Knuckles and Amy-who had just turned up, and Amy burst into tears at seeing Shadow alive and whole again.

"Is he still behind us ?" The rock formation Shadow had just floated past, exploded into dust. Sonic cringed, " I guess so.."

Shadow panted, trying to keep one step ahead of the attacks, "Are we nearly there? " He heard a faint rumbling and ,looking up, spotted a SS TV helicopter over head. "What!? We're being recorded!" Sonic chuckled, " Part of your plan?"

"N-nope.. but it might come in handy. _Power enriched by the heart_. Remember? If the world sees, they could help us."

"I re-joined my body, only for you to--"

"Hit the decks!!" Sonic grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him down. _Phoenix_ screamed at them before diving, the shock wave of fire soared over their heads. " Come on!" He tugged Shadow behind him. " He's not catching me.. at least, not yet."

The Master Emerald shrine came into view, both hedgehogs put on an extra burst of speed. They crossed the wooden bridge, a split-second before _Phoenix_ torched it. They ran up to the edge of the Island, and while Shadow looked over into the blackness below, Sonic folded his arms and tapped his foot.

" I'm _way_-ting!"

_"Finally. I have you cornered , hedgehogs. _I_..have won!"_ The ground glowed in silver as _Phoenix_ landed. Sonic and Shadow swallowed and raised their hands above their heads, edging towards the end of the Island. _" Guess what? You lose."_

"You know what? I don't think so. Ready, Shadow?" The golden hedgehog gave him a shaky nod. " Bye- bye, bird-brain!"

Taking deep breaths, both hedgehogs did perfect, backward dives off the edge of the shrine. _Phoenix_ blankly stared at the space where they were, shook his head and walked to the cliff edge.

_" Dumb-asses.."_

Behind him, The Master Emerald glowed into life.

**Next chapter up!**

**The end is near, sorry if it's been dragging. I guess I get carried away sometimes!**

**Shadow **_is_** back to normal (" And about time too!" I hear you say.) **

**Let's see if the writing on the wall comes to pass,**

**_" To quell the anger of the silver flames and release the shadow within. Use the two sons of the flying angels."_**


	5. Chapter 5

**I hate to say it, but I'm a sucker for the **_**Transformers**_** movie AND its soundtrack. With this chapter, I was listening to track number 12--Arrival to Earth-- (Respectively) and thought " I have to do it!"**

**Oh GOD! I'm blabbering! Someone shut me up!**

_**SMACK!**_

**Fank oooh... **

**Emboy! ( Sorry, Enjoy !)**

Chapter 5 . 

Sonic and Shadow had jumped.

The whole world held its breath, it had to be a trick..right?

But no.

They had jumped.

The Master Emerald on The Floating Island sent up a beam of green Chaos energy, a signal to the Angel Gems above, to come home to be with their sons.

High above, in the darkness of space, an icy comet heading for the planet, exploded into seven smaller ones of seven different colours, each one descending to the planet at different points, but all knowing the way home.

It was time.

The Grey Emerald,making it home first, burnt up the air around it like a mini sun. It floated in the green beam of light and with the help of The Master Emerald,sent out an invisible shock wave around the globe. Calling for it's brothers and sisters.

The Red Emerald, heeding the call, raced over rivers of fire and magma in the unstable volcano named Fittaburst. It crashed through the solid rock, twinkled in the darkness and with a sonic-boom, headed home.

Along the dusty, dirt roads of the desert, the Yellow Emerald gleefully dodged mighty pyramids. It twirled up and around the gigantic Sphinx statues, its power leaving a trail of yellow, energy rings in its wake as it raced towards Station Square.

The Green Emerald appeared over the dense forests to the east. It rose high above the trees, a small beacon of light. The gem glinted as it charged up its powers. Many forest folk spotted it from the ground and bowed their heads in prayer, the Emerald siphoned some of their hope, and with its extra energy boost raced to re-join its family.

From the dark mountains, over looking West City, the Purple Emerald soared across the sky. Its muffled sonic-booms were drowned out by the people as they ran out of the shelters, screaming and cheering. As it hurried over the Mayor's house, young Naminé clasped her hands together and prayed for her heroes.

The brother Emeralds-- Navy and Turquoise-- raced each other on the surface on the seas, churning up the water. Like their Yellow sibling, the gems released Chaos energy rings behind them as they sped up. Reaching the land, both Emeralds rose, playing and dancing all the way home. Behind them, many fishing boats were suddenly ladened with fish, their crews utterly confused on what had just happened.

--

**Master Emerald Shrine.**

_Phoenix_ looked up into the green pole of Chaos energy, to the seven balls of colour. He screwed up his face as the Angels Gems came at him, their brightness too powerful for him to look at. The seven Emeralds dived over the edge of the Floating Island.

The firey creature had to steady himself as the ground shook beneath his feet. He threw off the visor, it having been cracked in the chase and crawled to peer over the edge. He was knocked back with a shout as two,strong yellow pillars of Chaos energy rose from the darkness.

The air around The Shrine crackled, The Master Emerald glowed to its fullest. Two comets flew, fast, up the pillars and hovered.The light dimmed and _Phoenix _was able to see again.

Only to wished he couldn't.

Brimming with the goodness of The Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic and Super Shadow looked down on the flames and sneered, their eyes a light with ancient powers.

_" No.. It won't end this way! I won't let it!" Phoenix_unfurled his wings and took flight, heading into the depths of space.

Watching him go, Super Sonic chuckled, " Playtime's over !"

Shadow nodded and climbed the heavens alongside him, " Let's finish this!"

The super-charged hedgehogs chased after _Phoenix_ high into the cosmos, dodging the blue fireballs the crazed flame launched at them. Shadow curled into a gold ball of fury and launched his own counter-attack, he unleashed a wave of his own Chaos Spears. He hit his marks, the Armour that was still on the body of _Phoenix _dropped off, revealing the silver flames beneath. His homing attack caught _Phoenix_ in the back, _Phoenix _screamed and lashed out with his wings, the tip knocked Shadow back tumbling into Sonic's arms as the other hedgehog raced to keep up.

"Plan? " He shouted, spinning out the way of another attack from _Phoenix_. The heroes suddenly screamed in agony as a terrible shrieking filled the skies, they covered their eyes ,only to find blood on their hands.

Shadow panted,wiping the blood onto his knees, he looked at the NEW _Phoenix. _It's appearance had changed to it's name-sake, one giant bird, it's body was the white-silver fires of old. There were blue tips on his wings and head plumage, his golden eyes, bright as suns, narrowed at them. The corners of its beak curved upward, it cried out and spat a massive fireball at them.

" MOVE!" He and Sonic parted company, they regrouped as stared helplessly ahead. " We can't stop it alone, we need help..we need..."

_" You can do it. I know you can!"_

_" Tough it out ,you guys!"_

_" I believe in both of you, you can beat him."_

_" I've never been more proud of you, than I am now, Sonny-boy. Go get him!"_

_" You can win,Shadow, just believe in yourself."_

With the help of their friends and loved ones, Sonic and Shadow glowed like the suns they were, they powers restored, the two of them rushed towards _Phoenix _. But _Phoenix _wasn't done, it reared back its mighty head and conjured up another fireball ,it grew in size until it was nearly the same size as the bird. Shadow's eyes widened as he remembered the mural on the Temple wall.

" If he releases that fireball, the whole world with be encased in a dome of fire and left to roast alive. We've got to destroy it now!"

"How?" Squeaked Sonic.

He suddenly grinned, " Hand!"

Sonic grabbed his hand in a death-grip, Shadow pulled him up so they were face to face, he held him close.

" Trust me?"

" Never."

Shadow started spinning them in mid-air, they had one chance, if they blew it, the world was doomed. The two hedgehogs combined their powers into one powerful attack. The huge ,golden comet screamed towards the bird, whose eyes widened and beak fell open in a silent shriek.

When the goodness of the Chaos Emeralds met the evil of the Black Arms, the area where the battle took place was lit up with brilliant, golden sunshine, a fake sunrise that spread to every corner of the sky. The place seem to freeze, then an orb of the purest light expanded from within. With the DNA of Black Arms washed away from its being, and the power of the Chaos Emeralds to powerful for it to over-come, _Phoenix_ folded into itself, with a gently sigh, the bird imploded. As the force inside grew to much, it released its energy into space, showering the black void with numerous small, shooting stars that reached the remotest parts.

The whole world watched the out-come of the final battle. As it saw _The White Phoenix _fold into itself, every man, woman and child clasped their hands together in prayer. The silver flames twirled up into a firey tornado, they held their breath as one. From the midst of the vortex, two golden beams of light shot out of the top to float a few meters away.

It was silent, and then it started, it was faint but the sound suddenly grew deafening. The entire globe exploded with cheers, screams of joy and chants of the names of the two who had stopped the giant bird.

In the forests, the people painted their faces and dressed up, they lit fires and danced around them , whooping and jabbing fists and sticks in the air in celebration.

On the surface of the seas, the fishermen drew their boats as close as they could and exchanged handshakes and pats on the backs, breaking open any bottles of beer that they had on board.

In West City, the people ran out of the shelters.Some of them fell to their knees, weeping. Others collapsed in hugs with relieved smiles on their faces. Naminé ran to her mother and hugged her the best she could, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.

Station Square was the loudest. G.U.N let off a round of gunfire into the night sky. Tails exchanged a high-five with Knuckles before disappearing under the bodies of the trio that helped him earlier, they crumpled to the ground in a crying wreak. Glory was pulled down to her knees as Amy drew her into a bone-crushing hug, both girls broke as tears of joy trickled down their cheeks into their smiles. Knuckles shook Chuck's hand, the elderly hedgehog lifted his glasses and wiped his watery eyes with the back of his hand. Even though _this _Sonic wasn't _his _nephew, he'd never been more proud of him than right now.

The only one that wasn't celebrating, was Eggman. He watched the light show and slumped against the side of the prison truck he was in, that was being escorted by G.U.N. and police helicopters. His ginger whiskers drooped and he groaned, burying his head in his hands.

" I hate happy endings."

In the night-sky,_The White Phoenix _shrank in size, it became a small globe of fire, no bigger than a car tire. It settled in Super Sonic's arms, the two golden hedgehogs looked at it.

"What do we do now?"

Sonic's eyes widened, " Whoa.. big bird! "

"_Big bird_? You've been watching too many kid programmes, faker."

He groaned, " Not the Muppet. That! "

He pointed to a fast approaching comet. There was a flash of pinkish light and a giant phoenix flexed their wings, it looked like _White Phoenix _except that the tips of its tail feathers and the plumage on it head were bright pink and red. The tiny ball of silver chirped happily.

_" I thank you, sons of angels for saving him and giving me back my baby."_

"Baby..? Wait.. Are you _Mama Phoenix_?"

The pink bird nodded her big head, _" Yes. My child left our group and vanished as we travelled across the skies." _She sighed, the baby flames flew from Sonic's arms and circled her, she nudged it with love and looked at the glowing hedgehogs._ " Now he's back and we can re-join our family."_

" Family? There's _more_ of you?"

Shadow nodded, " Shooting stars... a whole family of Phoenixes going from one part of space to another." He groaned and clutched the side of his head. " We must return, Sonic."

_" Yes, as do we. My thanks again, sons of angels." _Mama _Phoenix _unfurled her pink wings and slowly moved away from them. Baby _Phoenix _chirped and flew around her head, its glow forever changing in the colors of The Chaos Emeralds. She stopped, turned her head, her golden eyes glued onto Sonic, and only Sonic, for Shadow had already descended back to the planet. _" You have a question, young hedgehog?"_

Sonic rubbed the back of his head, " Well... I sort of have two, will we see you again?"

She nodded, _" We will see each other once more," _She smiled warmly.

" OK.. and my next one, does baby have a name? It can't just be _White Phoenix, _'cause that's silly."

Mama leaned her head in close, Sonic blinked and stared into her yellow orbs. She hummed and nodded, nudging the babe with her beak, gazing at him with motherly affection.

_" His name...is Solaris."_

Sonic stared, wide-eyed as mother and baby disappeared into two glowing balls of fire and streaked across the darkness, to vanish in a blink of an eye. The gold hero was left floating there, his mouth hanging open, _It can't be... but that's IMPOSSIBLE! Solaris..._ Sonic groaned and, like Shadow, grabbed the side of his head. With his Chaos powers slowly depleting, Sonic sighed and gracefully fell back to the planet, joining Shadow on the way down. Their bodies turning back to blue and black,burning up the air around them. Both hedgehogs crashed into the sea, to be washed up onto the shores of Emerald Beach.

Shadow, having more strength in his legs than Sonic, dragged the soaked hedgehog up along the sand to stop him choking on sea water. He collapsed onto the sand with a groan, Sonic murmured awake and weakly lifted his head. Green eyes met red, with the world saved, they shared weak smiles before finally falling asleep.

**Should I do an Epilogue? I always like to end my stories on one. Yeah, why not.**

**Don't forget to R and R.**

**Catch you on the flip side, readers! **


	6. Epilogue

**OK, questions. To answer T.A.R.N.S, I think the safest bet would be to say..**_after_ **Sonic '06 . Seeing as Elise blew out Solaris in the last story and reset the times lines, in my eyes you can't really kill an immortal being and during the 1st volume- **_**Shattered Memories**_**- Sonic vaguely remembers Elise when he confuses her with Naminé after her make-over. So yeah, I think after.**

**I could've done this as one big story,( regarding Oracle's Song review.) but I wanted a go at doing a trilogy. **

**Well, that's enough from me. Enjoy people and big thanks for reading!**

**Mazz84 xx**

Naught's Sunrise--Epilogue. 

**Station Square, a few months after...**

_Was I worth saving? The way I was born, the evil inside me screaming to get out. Should it have been me that was destroyed and not Phoenix--no, not Phoenix, Solaris.. I now have a group that cares.. and someone that reminds me that there is something called love in this harsh place...But when it comes down to it--Was I worth saving?_

Shadow sat alone on a roof top, his body curled in a tight ball, knees to chest. He stared down at the city below and heard the faint harmonies of the music that came from a roof top not far from his place. He sighed deeply and buried his head against his knees.

"You know..." came a soft, but familiar voice, " If you want, we could go somewhere private."

He half--smiled, " Doesn't Glory have a big party planned? I mean.. this is a _once in a lifetime thing _isn't it? Don't you think we should both go?"

Sonic jumped up onto the roof beside him, and dangled one leg off the side. He cupped his chin in his hand as he studied the black hedgehog, he shrugged, " Yeah... we should show our faces, after all..we did save the world and Solaris..."

Shadow narrowed his ruby eyes, " Solaris? Why is that name so familiar to me? It feels like I should know it but I can't quite get it.. " He shuddered and rubbed the side of his head. He had been making progress over the last few months, Glory and Tails promised him that he would be back to normal but it would take time, Shadow had spent countless hours nearly every night, just staring at the huge mural that Naminé had drawn, trying to remember every detail of his life til now.

" So, how's everything? I mean... with Amy?"

The smiled returned, " She's been wonderful. I can safely call her a _real _friend, she's been helping me with my tests,showing me around the city and her..what she call them? Ah, friendship boxes have been a great help. I'd be lost with out her." He blinked as he noticed _what_ Sonic was wearing. " _Why_ the hell are you dressed in your night-things?"

Sonic looked down at himself ,he was dressed in his PJ's- a nice sky-blue set with mini chilli-dogs dotted here and there- he shrugged again and looked out to the river of roof-tops. " Well, since you weren't there when the invites arrived, Glory made her party an all-nighter. Every _top dog _of Station Square is out and partying in their jim-jams, waiting for the show to start. And before you ask..I'm wearing this--" He pointed to the flower crown on his head, "-- Because we were all given them as we arrived."

" You trampled over nearly all of Station Square in you PJ's and a flower ring, just to find me? " He smiled, and then chuckled loudly. " I'm sorry! But that's priceless!" His shoulders shook as he tried to contain his laughter.

The blue hedgehog smirked, " If you think what I'm wearing is funny, you see what the others are wearing." He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, it was silent for a second or two before a reply noise was heard over the air.

Shadow raised his sooty brows, " What was that for?" He asked, slightly ticked off.

Yet_ another _shrug, " Well, we thought..that since you won't come to the party, we'll bring the party to you," At Shadow's sudden change in expression from peeved to nervousness, he quickly added, " not everyone, just the gang. We've _acquired_ some food and drinks, and a few other things. Come on," He jumped from the ledge and went to the fire-escape, Shadow followed wearing a bemused expression now. " Make yourself useful, and help me with this." Sonic grabbed one end of a long table, Shadow the other. Once the table was in place and the legs were sorted out, Shadow grabbed Sonic by the shoulders to make him look in his ruby eyes.

" You tell me right now, hedgehog.._what_ are you up to?"

Sonic opened his mouth to reply, but another younger voice said, " Hey, Sonic ! Oh, good..you found him! Hey, Shadow !" Tails landed a few feet away, carrying a small box of pre-wrapped plates filled high with different foods, ranging from sandwiches to cream cakes. Pushing his flower crown from his eyes, he found Shadow staring at him, " Something wrong?"

"_ Something_- What is wrong with you two!? The faker is dressed in his chilli-dog covered PJ's, you're wearing a matching T-shirt and shorts set with clowns on the legs. What is--AAHH!!" He quickly covered his eyes, " Oh, I'm sorry! So sorry!" He turned his back on the new arrival.

" Good evening, Mister Shadow. I hope you're well." Carla--newly repaired a week earlier-- had come into view, wearing nothing but a strappy nightgown, her hair loose and curled. She grinned at Sonic, who returned it. Just like Amy was helping Shadow re-adjust to living in the city, Sonic was doing the same with Carla, the two were really close friends now. " Where do you want these?" She gestured to the load of bean-bag chairs in her arms, her white and green flower ring falling over her eyes.

"Let me help you." Sonic took a few and set them down by the table, he then rooted in the bag she'd hung over her arm. " Do you get-- Oh, you darling!" He pulled out a couple of waste-paper bins with holes drilled in them. He gave her a friendly peck on the cheek, " Let's set these up, we won't get cold now."

"Don't forget blankets, Sonic." Shadow's stomach flip-flopped as Amy came onto the roof dressed in one of _his_ nightshirts over a tank-top and a pair of black leggings, a flower crown in place. Dropping the woolly bundles ,she grinned at him and held out his own flower ring. " Here, I made it myself. I couldn't find any black flowers, so I used purple and red ones. Do you like it?"

He blinked, " I-- Th-Thank -you. " He leaned forward to let her slip it onto his head, " I don't look silly, do I?"

She giggled, " Shadow... Look at us, we're out in the night wearing our jim-jams. We_ all _look silly, ( Sonic shouted, " Speak for yourself!" and continued to help Carla light the fires.) especially Sonic." She stuck her tongue out at the blue hedgie, only for him to do the same back with a grin. She kicked at the blankets at her feet, " I pinched the warmest ones there, can you give me a hand?"

He smirked, " Thief."

"Yeah, and you love it."

As they spread the blankets on the floor, Knuckles stumbled in, carrying a box of drinks--ranging from fruit juices, flavoured waters and sodas. He was wearing a vest that had seen better days and a pair of PJ bottoms that were at least three inches too short. His cheeks were pink and he was having trouble breathing, his crown was slipping from his sweaty brows.

Sonic and Tails took one look at him, Tails giggled and Sonic shook his head, trying to hold in his laughter, " Saw Rouge, then?"

"I'll kill that bat !" He straightened out his fallen crown. " Fancy wearing something,like--like _that_ !? "

While the others fell about giggling, Shadow turned to Amy, "What was she wearing?"

She grinned, eyes a light with mischief, " She came to the party dressed in a silky, black nightie, that showed off everything.. and I mean _everything_!"

Shadow couldn't help but smile. A drink was pressed into his hands, he walked with Amy, who linked their arms together, to join the rest of the group. Sonic was standing on the roof ledge, drink raised.

" Dudes and dudettes, " He started.

" Get on with it!" Shouted Tails and Carla, with cheeky smiles.

" Alright! Keep your hair on! _Geez_.. We're here tonight to witness a magical event, one that won't be seen for at least another 500 years. With everything way past cool and Eggman rotting in jail, I say.. Let's party!!"

"Yeah!!"

They raised their glasses. The night-sky was suddenly lit up with hundreds, maybe thousands of white lights. The girls settled on the blankets, wrapped in their robes. Amy fished in her bag for her camera to take lots of photos, Carla took out her video recorder,pointed upwards and started filming the show. The air was soon filled with their _Oohhs_ and _Aahhs_. Knuckles and Tails were already working on the food, they loaded up their plates and joined the girls on the blankets, wiggling their toes by the fires.

Shadow leaned on the roof edge, nursing his drink in his hand. He watched the numerous comets fly by, each one slightly different than the last.

"Hey, lonesome," Sonic rested his arms against the brick-work.

"Can I ask you something?"

The blue hedgehog tilted his head and nodded, " Sure. Shoot."

_Prison gates won't open up for me  
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'  
Oh, I reach for you  
Well I'm terrified of these four walls  
These iron bars can't hold my soul in  
All I need is you  
Come please I'm callin'  
And oh I scream for you  
Hurry I'm fallin'_

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, " You risked nearly everything to save me. And I want an honest answer from you, Sonic," He opened his eyes and looked him directly into his green ones, " Was I worth it?"

_Heaven's gates won't open up for me  
With these broken wings I'm fallin'  
And all I see is you  
These city walls ain't got no love for me  
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story  
And oh I scream for you  
Come please I'm callin'  
And all I need from you  
Hurry I'm fallin'_

Sonic kindly placed a hand over his and squeezed. The reflections of the shooting stars made his eyes glimmer, his smile was soft as he said one little word, " Yes."

_  
Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Say it for me  
Say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me_

Shadow smiled shyly and nodded. Staring up to the heavens, the two of them spotted a comet, much brighter than all the others, its glow forever changing to the colours of The Chaos Emeralds. As it raced over the city, a strange sound drifted down to those below. The people of Station Square and the rest of the world were treated to Solaris' song, the most beautiful sound in the universe. As it past the roof-top where Sonic and Shadow stood, it twinkled to the two sons of angels. A second later, a much larger comet came up alongside it. Mother and baby danced for the two hedgehogs, leaving a trail of rainbow sparkles in their wakes. They glowed brightly, one last time to say their good-byes, and disappeared in the mass of shooting stars.

Sonic and Shadow smiled and went to re-join the others, who were already talking about what kind of new adventures would be waiting for them around the corner. As they conversed with bubbling excitement, only Shadow couldn't shake off the feeling of apprehension, he just stared into the flames..lost in his own world.

**Else where...**

Shadow was right to be un-nerved. In the well guarded _Prison for Crankpot Geniuses_, Eggman was already plotting his next plan to take over the world. Dressed in a tacky navy jumpsuit, the mad Doctor sat waiting to make his move. The person he was playing chess with was taking bloody ages, but it wasn't all bad, according to the other nutty inmate there were even more powerful stars out there. Far powerful than _Phoenix_ and if one could catch them... He tuned into the conversation that his opposition was waffling about,

"... All you need is some stardust from the last fallen star,see? I had me sums all worked out, designed a missile that could go into space and lock onto the nearest star, piercing its heart," He moved a Knight.

" Piercing..the..stars..You don't say?"

He gave a mad cackle, " Yeah... but I never got a chance to test it! That soddin' goodie-two shoes, Sonic--( Eggman frowned.)-- stopped me plans and ratted me out to G.U.N. " A gleam appeared in his old cracked eyes, " Stories go, that 'appened to you too, didn't it? Never mind, Robotty, no rodents in 'ere to get on your nerves, eh?"

_Only you, my foolish friend. _Eggman countered his move with a pawn, " What's so great about a star anyway?" He mumbled, " Just a lot of red tape."

"Are you kiddin' me?! Harness the power of a star,--a _proper _star, not one of these myth things,-- its _true_ power and you get ever-lasting life! Countless chances to stop Sonic the--_bleedin'_--Hedgehog. Once he's a bag of bones you can rule the world! But too bad for you, G.U.N. seized all your robots and warehouses. Thanks for the game..Ta! "

The bloke got up, leaving Eggman to stare at the board, wondering where he'd gone wrong. On his way back to his cell, however, his blank look slowly changed to one of craftiness. He slumped onto his bunk and stared at the dank ceiling, a smile slowly forming on his face.

_I maybe down, Sonic, _He thought with a pleased shiver, _But I'm certainly _not_ out. Mark my words, rodent, I'll get out of here.You haven't seen the last of me.. _He chuckled softly, then burst into a fit of mad giggles.

" I'll be back, hedgehog ! I'll--be--back !!"

**Fin.**

**Takes a bow. Thank you for all your reviews. Big hugs to all!**

**I feel pretty pleased with how the trilogy turned out, the one thing I was really worried about was keeping everyone in character--main worry was Shadow. I didn't what him being all mad and raving like he is mostly portrayed in fics, but wanted him to be calmer, yet bloody powerful when he has to be. I hope that came across.**

**Big thanks to T.A.R.N.S for sticking with me since Volume One, I hope **_everyone_** enjoyed the Save Me Trilogy.**

**Song is **_**Savin' Me **_**by Nickelback taken from album **_**All The Right Reasons**_**, I think it suits, but that's just me.**

**Watch this space, I shall return.**

**Catch you on the flip side, guys! Whoo-hoo!!**


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